Nesselrode Chiffon Pie, from Fabulous Foods That Are Fun To Fix. Knox Gelatine, Inc. 1961.Courtesy RecipeCurio.comWhat were Washingtonians serving for Christmas dinner 50 years ago? On December 21, 1964, The Washington Post published an article suggesting menus for “Christmas Dinners …Traditional and Modern.” Some of the courses and potential band names featured in these holiday repasts may surprise and/or disgust you!
Christmas Dinner: Roast Suckling Pig
Christmas Dinner: Roast Goose
Christmas Dinner: Modern
Christmas Dinner: Roast Duckling
(recipes for the asterisked items were featured in that day’s Food section)
Wait a minute, you may ask. Your meat-laden fork suspended in air as if halted by an unseen force. What is Nesserode [sic] Pudding? This frozen treat named after the Russian Count Karl Von Nesselrode was once a holiday staple but has since fallen out of favor. In a 2004 New York Times article, “To Find the Unfindable Pie,” Nesselrode pie is considered “an old New York dessert;” its most famous Gotham purveyor being Hortense Spier’s Upper West Side bakery. But the dish’s origins go back to the 19th century, with a Russian Count named Karl Von Nesselrode and his French chef Monsieur Mouy. Nesselrode pudding or pie used to be so much a part of the collective consciousness that humorist S. J. Perelman referred to it in his 1951 New Yorker piece “Nesselrode to Jeopardy,” but it was a labor intensive process, which, depending on the recipe you followed, involved chestnut puree, candied ginger, maraschino liqueur and two days of prep work. Depending on who you talked to, it wasn’t really worth the effort.
Fortunately, those who preferred to eat out for Christmas dinner had an array of options available in 1964, including dinners at the Madison Hotel’s celebrated Montpelier Room ($5.75 for an eight-course feast!), the Shoreham’s Blue Room (entrees from $4.25 for Broiled Filet of Florida Red Snapper to $5.50 for Prime Rib!), and the Water Gate Inn, which is located on a site now occupied by the Kennedy Center.
